First spaceport will offer out of this world trips

Wednesday 14 December 2005 04.29 EST
First published on Wednesday 14 December 2005 04.29 EST

A patch of wasteland wedged between a mountain ridge and a US army missile firing range was yesterday named as the site for the world's first commercial spaceport.

Plans for the launch facility were unveiled following an agreement between Virgin Galactic, the fledgling space-faring wing of Richard Branson's business empire, and authorities in New Mexico who expect to begin construction early in 2007.

Designs for the $225m (£127m) spaceport have been drawn up by Philippe Starck, the French designer whose previous projects include office chairs, handbags and slick-looking colanders. To minimise environmental disruption, 90% of the launch centre is expected to be built underground, with only runways and a few buildings visible from the surface.

The decision to build the spaceport follows successful test flights of SpaceShipOne, the spacecraft designed by respected aerospace engineer Burt Rutan. In October last year Mr Rutan's rocket-plane claimed $10m after winning the X-Prize, a competition set up to challenge engineers to build a vehicle that could take people into space, return and fly again within a few days.

Virgin Galactic hopes to use a new version of the spacecraft to take passengers to the edge of space in 2008. Stephen Attenborough, president of Virgin Galactic, said nearly 38,000 people from 126 countries had signed up to express an interest in the flights. The company has set aside 100 places for what it calls its founders, those willing to stump up the full ticket price of $200,000 to be among the first to fly. So far 75 people have paid up, with the remaining 25 seats to be given out selectively to encourage budding astronauts from a wide range of countries. "A lot want to fly with us some day, many will have to wait for the price to come down and many will want to see the technology proved safe first. It's important the first to fly go back to as many countries as possible to tell people about it."

Around 85% of the founders are male. "The average age is 50, the baby boomer generation of kids who have not stopped dreaming, but the youngest will be just 16. We also have fathers and sons, and an entire family. Potentially the oldest will be a 90-year-old granny from the Netherlands who celebrated her 85th birthday by skydiving." Each 3½-hour flight begins with the craft slung beneath a jet-powered plane that takes the spaceship to 50,000 feet. The pilot then fires the onboard rocket which takes the spacecraft straight up at three times the speed of sound.

While there is no toilet, passengers will get six minutes to float around in weightlessness when the craft reaches an altitude of 70 miles, where the view will show the gentle curvature of Earth.